The Galena River is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
, accessed May 19, 2011 stream in northern

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It rises in the northeast corner of Springfield Township, about north of LaPorte in LaPorte County and flows northeast. Just after it crosses the state boundary into Three Oaks Township in

Berrien County, Michigan Berrien County is a county on the south line of Michigan, at the southwestern corner of the state. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 154,316. The county seat is St. Joseph. Berrien County is included in the Niles- Benton Harbor, MI Me ...

, it is joined from the east by

Spring Creek A spring creek is a type of free flowing river whose name derives from its origin: an underground spring or set of springs which produces sufficient water to consistently feed a unique river. The water flowing in a spring creek may additionally be ...

to form the South Branch Galien River. After becoming the Galien River in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, the river ultimately flows to

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

in New Buffalo.

History

The river was named after René Bréhant de Galinée, a French missionary and explorer. In Michigan the name was changed to Galien River by legislative action in 1829, and presumably the Indiana Galena River tributary has the same etymology.

Watershed

Although the Galena River is mostly in Indiana, the entire Galena/Galien watershed consists of , of which one-quarter, , are in Indiana, the remainder being in Berrien County, Michigan. In Indiana, the watershed remains relatively undeveloped; the two principal land uses are forest and agriculture. There are no large urbanized areas in the watershed. In comparison to other watersheds along the Lake Michigan coastal area, the Galena River has not been significantly impacted by human influence, Within Indiana, the Galena River watershed is located within the physiographic unit known as the Valparaiso Morainal Area. The

Valparaiso Moraine The Valparaiso Moraine is a recessional moraine (a land form left by receding glaciers) that forms an immense U around the southern Lake Michigan basin in North America. It is the longest moraine. It is a band of hilly terrain composed of glac ...

, located south of the

Lacustrine Plain A lacustrine plain or lake plain is a plain formed due to the past existence of a lake and its accompanying sediment accumulation. Lacustrine plains can be formed through one of three major mechanisms: glacial drainage, differential uplift, and inla ...

, is an arc-shaped moraine complex that parallels the southern shore of Lake Michigan. The moraine divides LaPorte County into northern and southern drainage areas. The area north drains into Lake Michigan; south of the moraine water drains to the

Kankakee River The Kankakee River is a tributary of the Illinois River, approximately long, in the Central Corn Belt Plains of northwestern Indiana and northeastern Illinois in the United States. At one time, the river drained one of the largest wetlands in N ...

. Numerous

kettle lake A kettle (also known as a kettle lake, kettle hole, or pothole) is a depression/hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters. The kettles are formed as a result of blocks of dead ice left behind by retreating gla ...

s sit on the moraine. Land use in the watershed is principally forest and agriculture.

Ecology

The Galena River originates from two wetland sources, the Galena Wetland Conservation Area and a prairie

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires. T ...

called the Springfield Fen Nature Preserve, which join to form the river. Typical presettlement vegetation consisted of extensive forests, specifically oak-hickory forests in uplands, and beech or northern swamp forest in wetlands, although today most of the old growth forests have been harvested.

Pollution

In 2009, ''

Escherichia coli ''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escher ...

'' exceeded water quality standards at eight of nine sampling sites. The most common sources of ''E. coli'' are livestock operations, failing septic systems, illicit sewage connections, and combined sewer overflows. The

Indiana Department of Natural Resources The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the U.S. state of Indiana. There are many divisions within the DNR and each has a specific role. The DNR is not only responsible for maintaining resource areas but also manages In ...

has designated the Galena River as a salmonid stream, which requires a higher level of water quality standards.

References

External links

Galena River Watershed in Indiana Lake Michigan Coastal Management Program

Saves the Dunes non-profit conservation organization
{{authority control Rivers of Michigan Rivers of Indiana Rivers of LaPorte County, Indiana Rivers of Berrien County, Michigan Tributaries of Lake Michigan